- Florent Danset, previously of Blackstone and Partners Group, appointed as Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of European Real Estate alongside David King
- Existing Country Heads Roque Rotaeche (Spain) and Eric Desautel (France) to remain in place
- Established in 2002, Harbert European Real Estate has transacted on approximately €5.9B in real estate to date
LONDON, Oct. 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harbert Management Corporation (‘HMC’), a privately owned alternative asset manager with $8.1B in regulatory assets under management, has strengthened the leadership team of its European Real Estate (‘HERE’) platform.
Florent Danset has joined HMC as a Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of European Real Estate. Prior to joining HMC, he co-founded Alte, a boutique investment manager specialising in European value-add real estate, following senior investment roles at Blackstone and Partners Group.
Florent will serve as Co-Head of European Real Estate alongside Senior Managing Director David King, who has been with HMC for close to 18 years. They are supported by Principals Roque Rotaeche in Spain and Eric Desautel in France, both of whom have been with HMC for 18 years.
Danset will focus on capital formation and product development, while King will continue leading on divestment and asset management initiatives for existing HERE investments. Together, they will collaborate on the disciplined deployment of capital into new opportunities.
To date, HMC has transacted on approximately €5.9B of European real estate, having established HERE in 2002. Over the last 24 months, HERE has deployed €485M in the living sector and €184M into industrial across the UK, Spain and France. HERE has also been active in dispositions including the recent sale of a 1.2M square feet logistics asset in France to Amazon.
Travis Pritchett, President of Harbert Management Corporation, said: “Florent brings the strategic insight gained from his experience at global institutional asset managers, combined with an entrepreneurial mindset and a hands-on leadership style. European real estate remains a key pillar within our broader real assets platform. Our focus on creating value at the asset level, in markets and sectors supported by clear structural tailwinds gives us the ability to perform consistently through all phases of the market cycle.”
Florent Danset, Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of European Real Estate at Harbert Management Corporation, added: “It is a privilege to join a leading mid-market real estate investor with more than two decades of cycle-tested performance and deep local roots in Europe. HMC’s strong culture, reflected in the tenure and cohesion of its European leadership, was a major draw. Its differentiated, disciplined investment approach, within a global institutional platform, made the opportunity particularly compelling. I look forward to building on the team’s track record and contributing to the next phase of growth for HMC’s European Real Estate platform.”
David King, Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of European Real Estate at Harbert Management Corporation, added: “We believe the current environment presents dislocation opportunities that will make this an exceptional vintage for our platform. The upcoming cycle plays directly to our strengths in granular market understanding, diligent asset selection, and active asset management. With Florent’s insight and experience complementing our existing capabilities, we will continue to apply the same disciplined approach to investing and value creation that defines HMC’s success.”
About Harbert Management Corporation
Harbert Management Corporation is an alternative asset manager with approximately $8.1B in Regulatory Assets Under Management as of September 30, 2025. Formed in 1993, the firm is privately owned and serves a variety of institutional investors across multiple asset classes. Investment strategies include European and U.S. real estate, power, seniors housing, growth capital, credit solutions, and absolute return funds. For additional information about HMC visit, www.harbert.net or contact hmc@montfort.london.
